


crucible

by soulfriend



Category: New Mutants (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Child Death, Dealing With Trauma, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, samberto if you squint, xmen #7 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22962154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulfriend/pseuds/soulfriend
Summary: “Woah, woah, woah,” Roberto stammered. “What happened?”Sam looked up, confused. “You mean you don’t know?”“I- Sam- don’t know about what?” Roberto grasped for words.Sam’s voice broke. “Crucible.”
Relationships: Sam Guthrie & Roberto da Costa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	crucible

**Author's Note:**

> so i have feelings about xmen #7.

There was nothing good to watch on Shi’ar TV. Roberto had been aimlessly flipping through the channels for a while now, but his mind wasn’t on the screen before him. All he could think about was what Sam would think about Krakoa. He’d been meaning to visit his family there for a while now-- it had been forever since he’d seen all his siblings in one place. And, well, alive. Roberto had wanted to come with him, see all his friends back on the mutant island, but Sam had insisted upon going alone. Roberto had shrugged and commented that they’d have to go together some other time. All he could hope for now was that Sam would fall in love with the idyllic island the same way Roberto had, and maybe understand why he’d come all this way to come get him.

It had gotten dark outside at some point during Roberto’s fruitless search for entertainment, and he was halfway to sleep when he heard the knock on the door. Well, it was less of a knock and more of a harsh rap.

“Roberto! Open this door right now!” Sam’s voice came, muffled, from the hallway, departing from his usual warm and collected tone. ‘Berto started and anxiously made his way to the door. Sam had used his full name-- that was never a good sign.

“Hey, how was-”

“What the  _ fuck _ , Roberto?!” He had hardly opened the door a crack when his friend shoved past him in an uncharacteristic display of anger, throwing himself down on Roberto’s couch and putting his head in his hands. Roberto was taken aback; Sam almost never cursed. “Why the  _ hell _ would you- I-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Roberto stammered. “What happened?”

Sam looked up, confused. “You mean you don’t know?”

“I- Sam- don’t know about what?” Roberto grasped for words.

Sam’s voice broke. “Crucible.”

* * *

Everything that had happened after Apocalypse had delivered the killing blow had been a blur. Sam remembered the screaming, the blood, Melody’s broken body, and then Melody being whole again in beams of golden light. But at the same time, he didn’t remember any of it-- it was as if someone else had taken over his body and Sam himself had been reduced to a helpless observer.

All he had known was that he had to get the hell out of there. The sight of his sister floating there with an almost programmed smile on her face, naked and covered in the orange goop of the pods, had jolted some survival instinct in Sam. Suddenly he was back in control of his body and produced his first rational thought since the arena:  _ Leave. _

That was how he had found himself stumbling back through the Krakoan gate in his building and onto Roberto’s doorstep. Now that his best friend was back by his side, Sam regretted with every bone in his body his decision to leave him behind for his first (and probably last) visit to the mutant island.

Roberto’s soft, concerned voice drew him back to the present moment. “Sam, what’s Crucible?” The fact that Roberto seemed to have no idea what Sam was talking about was a comfort-- the Roberto he knew would never voluntarily send him to witness his sister get beaten to death.

“So y’know how all those mutants got depowered on M-Day?” Roberto nodded. “They’ve determined that the only way for them to get their powers back… is… is for them to die.”

Sam saw the gears turning in Roberto’s head, but, thankfully, his friend stayed silent. Sam took a deep breath before continuing.

“And do you know what they’ve decided to do? Do you know the method your  _ Council _ approved of for this so called ‘rebirth?’” Sam’s voice started to rise in anger. He could feel himself shaking, and in that moment he was glad he was so good at controlling his powers.

“They stick them-- these  _ kids _ \-- in an arena with Apocalypse, with a crowd cheering them on, to die. For Apocalypse to  _ beat them to death _ .”

Roberto’s eyes widened in horror. “Sam, I--”

“And do you know who was first, Roberto? Take a wild guess.” Sam’s breaths were coming quicker now, and he no longer tried to fight the tears threatening to spill over. He didn’t need to say it. They both knew.

Sam felt dizzy. The memories were coming back now, with a horrifying clarity Sam hadn’t had in the moment. The bruises, the blood, the barbaric roar of the crowd. The numbing terror Sam had felt, the screams that had hurt his throat, the helplessness he’d felt as Angelo had held both him and Paige back. The sickening  _ crunch _ of Apocalypse’s metal-clad fists connecting with Melody’s face, the way Sam’s stomach turned whenever he would hear him speak. The way Apocalypse’s sword had gone straight through Melody’s chest, in one end and out the other, how she had fallen to the ground in a heap, limp and lifeless, how Melody had died with her eyes open, her glassy gaze staring into nothing--

“Sam. Sam.” He felt Roberto’s warm hands in his shaky ones, and let out a strained sob. That was it, he was full on weeping now-- the shaking, ugly, uncontrollable kind. “I’m here, Sam, c’mere.” Roberto enveloped Sam in a hug, holding his head to his chest and rubbing his back comfortingly.

“I could’ve helped,” Sam choked out. “I c-could’ve stopped him, but they wouldn’t let me, ‘Berto, I-- I could’ve blasted his face off. I should’ve tried harder, I know I could’ve saved her-- they slaughtered her like an animal-- and I just let it happen--” Sam’s head spun, and he felt like throwing up. He devolved into unrestrained sobs again, and Roberto just let him cry.

‘Berto’s words were soft when he finally spoke. “I had no fucking idea, Sam, and if I had known, I never would have sent you there, you have to know that.” Sam heard him sniffle. “I’m so sorry, Sam, oh my god, I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Berto, what if it’s not even her? What if Melody is really dead, and this is just some-- some shell, some clone?” Sam couldn’t stop shaking. He felt cold. “What if I never get her back?” They hadn’t even let him see Melody’s body; they’d whisked her away as soon as the “ceremony” was over. Never to be seen again. Did they bury her? Or did her body disappear when she was reborn?

“I… I don’t know, Sam.” Roberto sounded like he was at a loss for words. “I wish I had the answers, but I don’t. I was only there for a little while before I came to find you.” Sam was silent for a moment.

“How do they let Apocalypse do that? Scott, Emma, Kurt, any of them? And how  _ dare _ he talk to Melody like that-- he called her  _ sister _ , the disgusting bastard. He kept telling her to stand up, to die with pride, to let him slaughter her with dignity. They made it look like a fight, but he was just beating a kid who couldn’t fight back. There was nothing prideful or dignified about it. It was a long, drawn out, glorified execution.”

Roberto couldn’t find the words to reply that time.

“And what if the longer you’re there, the more brainwashed you get-- oh,  _ God _ .” Sam let out another sob, feeling the spiral again, and ‘Berto tightened his hold on his friend. “Paige, Jay… They’re stuck on that godforsaken island with  _ Apocalypse _ , I have to get them out of there, I have to--”

“Sam.” Sam looked up, and Roberto rested his hand on Sam’s elbow. He brought the other one up to his face, wiping a tear away with his thumb. Sam was filled with warmth. “We’ll do whatever we can, okay? Just… let yourself rest right now.”

Sam nodded, resigned. “Okay. We can save mutantkind tomorrow.”

Roberto smiled, teary-eyed. “Sam and ‘Berto against the world yet again, huh?” He started laughing. Sam sniffed, wiping his own tears away, and he started laughing too.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on tumblr [@samberto](http://samberto.tumblr.com)


End file.
